Thursday Thoughts - on the double, ralphie!

1. Remember when MFD was sitting around in a Ralphie bunny costume on Halloween? This will be the first Halloween in 12 years that my dogs will not be wearing a costume. Geege was my Halloween dog who endured the dressing up with silent dignity while the other two raged against the machine. I just can't do it this year.

2. Mae is exercising demons out of her asshole, from prednisone maybe? I have a call in to the vet. But she seems much better overall, which is weird to say after that first sentence. We're all still assimilating to Bruce Springsteen, of course. He is tiring himself and us out every day.

3. Today is my last day off of the year aside from a holiday. I'm hanging out with Lola Jean. I picked this vest up for her at Old Navy. New nephew coming soon! I got him some things too.

4. Last night we had dinner at the Continental with Melissa and Blane then went to see Trae Crowder/ the Liberal Rednecks WellRED tour at Helium. Not too shabby for a Wednesday night, am I right?


5. Every day is a good day to have a BFF sunglasses designer who sends you free glasses you like because she has them laying around since she worked on the design. Thanks KVSR for the shades. I got my plaid Toms too. Boom. And my Christmas gifts have started arriving. I'm about halfway done with the shopping.

6. I finally got my lazy ass over to see the Octavius Catto statue that was installed at the end of September here in Philadelphia. An educator, scholar, writer, pioneering baseball player, and fearless civil rights activist,  Catto fought unflaggingly for an equitable society in the wake of the Civil War. He successfully protested to desegregate Philadelphia’s trolleys, he fought to pass constitutional amendments enfranchising black citizens, and then he worked to bring those new black voters to the polls. He was shot and killed on his way to vote in 1871. It's the first public monument honoring one specific black person erected in the city of Philadelphia.

7. I walked all the way around City Hall first because I love the building and second because I was looking for the trump rat that was up near the Rizzo statue the day before. Alas it was nowhere to be found. Such a gorgeous building though and there's always something going on. This is Flores de Libertad, the installation of 1,600 hand dyed flowers, a creative action against family detention by artist Michelle Angela Ortiz. She's led several free paper flower workshops. Flowers from participants join the flowers made by undocumented mothers detained at the Berks County Family Detention Center, a prison for immigrant families in PA. Think of how fucked up that description is...a prison for immigrant families. The flowers of the mothers carry messages of freedom.

8. This week in NOT NORMAL: Amy Siskind's authoritarian list, week 49 where she points out we spent most of our time talking about the imposter's actions towards a fallen soldier instead of the scary shit on this list; the two-person company Whitefish Energy with small town neighbor ties to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke got the $300 million contract to fix the electrical grid in Puerto Rico (80% of the island is still without power as of Monday) in a no-bid process - swampy as fuck, you guys; and mothers who defend sons who sexually assault women. This week in everyone read this: I'm giving you the BoredPanda link to a tweet thread by @stealthygeek because it's hard to find the thread wading through the insane people who responded to his commentary on the assertion life begins at conception.

9. Reminder:

10. E-card of the week: 

Stranded on a deserted island: Christmas movie edition

The title of this sounds like a nightmare to me. I am not the most Christmas-y of people. You will not find things like It's a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, et all on a list of my favorite Christmas movies or shows. However...

I'm sort of married to Clark Griswold, which would explain why I can't quit Christmas Vacation. I can't resist THE BLESSING, the shitter being full, and the neighbors. I mean, what about these photos does not scream Christmas to you?

Fun fact: whenever MFD and I are bickering I either picture us as Todd and Margo from Christmas Vacation or Meg and Hamilton from Best in Show. 

A Walsh Family Christmas - So it's not a movie, but it's 90210 and 90210 belongs on a deserted island with me. Cindy is sad because it's her first Christmas away from Minnesota. She invites everyone over but no one can come then they all end up there in the end. In between, Dylan visits his father in prison, Brenda stops the police from harassing an old man in a Santa suit he stole from the Peach Pit, Steve tracks down his biological maternal grandfather and finds out his biological mother is dead, Jackie and Mel get in a furious fight while Kelly pouts and David looks anxious, Donna sits there with her teeth in her mouth being Donna, and I'm sure Andrea spends the episode wringing her hands over some political or social injustice. HO HO HO MOFOS!

My final pick is a copout: A Christmas Story. I know every word and figure it would be a good memory test when I'm going insane alone on the deserted island. And MFD looks like Ralphie. Andplusalso, if I'm ever whiny or tired, I flop down like Randy so...

I'd also strand myself with a wish that there was a Christmas reunion version of Dirty Dancing. Now that would be a true gift.

What three Christmas movies would you take with you to a deserted island?

Linking up with Mix & Match Mama and A Little Bit of Everything

Merry Everything!

Can I just say I love being married to someone who likes to do shit like this for a laugh?

Because I do. I love it.

Today and every day I'm counting my blessings...

for the framily in my circle,

for my job, my health, and my home,

and for all the other big and small things that make this life a wonderful life.

I'm especially thankful that I know - regardless of the petty bullshit and annoyances, the assholes I encounter, the periods of dissatisfaction, the times things don't go my way, or the stumbling blocks I hit  - that I do indeed have a wonderful life. I roll with the bad days because they allow me to truly appreciate how good the good days are. 

I am rich in ways a lot of people in this world will never know, and that humbles me. My parents and family laid a great foundation of love and encouragement for me and you cannot put a price tag on that. So regardless of what else you gift others with this year, please make the first gift love and encouragement for the people around you. Lifting each other up is a vital part of the human condition. Shine your light on others. Participate. Receive. 

Wishing you and yours a wonderful Christmas Eve & Day.

Your time together is the true present and better than anything you can buy at a store. 

Enjoy and HAVE FUN!

Meatloaf beatloaf I...love meatloaf

Via

Similar to when he said, "Daddy's gonna kill Ralphie," Randy was wrong about meatloaf. Meatloaf may be my number one favorite comfort food. I love it out of the oven and I love it cold.

My basic meatloaf recipe is very simple, but some Sundays call for the big mama meatloaf and that was this Sunday. When I want to be a fatty, I use the Pioneer Woman's meatloaf recipe as a guide. This leaves a lot of leftovers, so if you are not feeding a crowd or interested in leftovers, you should halve this recipe.

Ingredients:

2 lb ground beef

6 slices white bread (I used whole grain white, you can use what you have)

1 cup milk (I used 1/4 cup fat free half & half and 3/4 cup 1%)

1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/2 teaspoon regular salt

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

3/4 cup shredded cheese of your choice

1/4 heaping cup parmesan cheese

ground black pepper to your liking

1/2 cup minced flat leaf parsley

4 whole eggs, beaten

10 slices regular bacon (don't use thick cut)

1 cup ketchup

4 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon dry mustard

Sriracha (squirt or to your taste)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Put your bread slices in a large mixing bowl and pour the milk over them. Allow to soak for a few minutes. I use this time to deal with the parsley and gather the rest of my ingredients. I also get out my broiler pan, line the bottom with foil, and spray the top with nonstick spray. I set this next to my mixing bowl. Using the broiler pan allows the fat to drip through.

When you're ready, add parsley, ground beef, cheese, spices, and lastly eggs to the mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, combine ketchup, brown sugar, dry mustard, and sriracha and mix well. Set aside. 

Wash your hands, dirty friend. You're mixing this meat mix beeotch by hand until well combined. Place it on the broiler pan and form into a loaf. 

Top it with bacon slices, tucking them under on the sides and overlapping them just a little.  Pour a third of the sauce over the top and spread it with a spoon. 

Bake for 45 minutes, then pour another 1/3 of the sauce over the top and spread. Bake for another 15 minutes. 

We serve our meatloaf with mashed potatoes, corn and green beans.

And now for Haikuesday:

Meatloaf sings to me.

Paradise by the dashboard...

Lighten up, it's meat.

Do you love monograms as much as I do? My friend has started a new business and I am the lucky recipient of a glass to test. Do you want one? Go like My Fab Glass on facebook and tell them Steph sent you. They will pick a winner on Friday at midnight and you'll have your own awesome monogrammed glass. 

Other than that...suck it, Tuesday.

Linking up with Blissfully Miller and Let's Get Bananas for

Grinch List

Let me preface this by saying that I enjoy the Christmas season. I like to deck my halls, share good cheer with those dear to me, send and receive cards, sing Fairytale of New York at the top of my lungs, marvel over ugly Christmas sweaters, sit on the couch and admire the glow of our tree, put reindeer antlers on my dogs, donate toys for tots, bake Christmas cookies, watch Christmas Vacation and A Christmas Story, see everyone's tree and Santa pics, the whole nine.

But there are things I don't like too, and I'm probably not the only one. We rarely mention the stressful dark side of the holiday season for fear of being branded a Scrooge. Even though this is a season cloaked in magic, there is a reality to it, like there is to everything. Not loving everything about the holiday season doesn't make me or you Scrooge. This year my gift to myself is acknowledging that.

So what don't I like?

Doing the Christmas tree. I like it when it's up, but putting it up? No. Thankfully I'm married to MFD W. Griswold and he does it start to finish. And he does it very well - he clips it lovingly with scissors, he places each ornament carefully. He has an eye for symmetry and our tree is always beautiful. I usually have to take it down, which I also hate, but I'll take it. And, pine needles. Insidious vacuum hose ruiners.

Christmas music 24/7. Or that Christmas Shoes song, ever.

The attempt to cram a year of cheer into one month. By 12/26, I'm tired.

Seeing Christmas decor in stores at Halloween (I'm looking at you, Kohl's), really irks me. It takes away some of the rush. I remember when nothing was up in stores until after Thanksgiving, and it seemed like magic happened overnight. Now it's the sales that happen overnight. It puts me in a bad mood. I feel like greed and consumerism take over a lot of the season.

Expecting shiny happy kumbaya love circles because it's the holidays. Not everyone gets along or likes everyone else, and that's okay. That's life. Pretending for December is awkward.

Scheduling Christmas Day. Have I timed it right? Are we spending enough time everywhere? Someone is invariably disappointed and I am always anxious about it in advance. Why is it harder to keep in mind during the holidays that if you try to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one?

The holiday season tests my desire to keep a good life balance. I want to do everything and be everywhere and see everyone. I have to remember that I can't do it all without getting totally run down, rendering me useless like Randy in A Christmas Story.

This concludes the airing of the grievances and holiday whining.

Next up: feats of strength and holiday posts about pooping candy cane scented sunshine.

Linking up with Helene, Emily and Kathleen for Tell Me About it Tuesday.